Categories: International and Comparative Law Economic Regulation
Course Description
This course will serve as an introduction to international and transnational law which will be defined as incorporating a range of substantive legal fields implicated in the regulation of cross border activity as well as aspects of law that are directly affected by decisions and events that occur or have effects beyond national borders. The course will include a basic introduction to public international law, international economic law, human rights and humanitarian law as well as a more limited exposure to conflicts of law, comparative law and the use of foreign and international law in the domestic courts of the United States. Taking this course will achieve two important goals for first year law students. First, this course will expose students to international legal issues and foreign legal concepts and problems that they are likely to face at some time in their future legal careers regardless of where they choose to practice. Given the increasing reliance on law in diverse fields, from trade to the environment, and the exponential increase in transborder activity, as well as the increasing global practice of law, there are a surprising range of transnational legal questions that any well trained lawyer should have some awareness of. Second, this course will be a basic introduction for all students interested in pursuing higher level courses in any aspect of international or global law. While students will have the opportunity in their second year to take some advanced courses, even if they have not taken this first introductory course, this course will be the basic entry point for the full range of transnational and international law courses offered in the second and third years. The course is also the first step in the international and comparative law track.